In the fourth quarter of last year, Latvia was one of only three European Union (EU) countries to register a decline in gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the same period the previous year, according to the latest data published by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, on Friday.
According to seasonally adjusted data, Latvia’s GDP decreased by 0.4% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period a year earlier.
Economic contraction was also recorded in Germany (-0.2%) and Austria (-1.2%).
Meanwhile, the strongest GDP growth was observed in Ireland (+9.2%), Denmark (+4.1%), Lithuania and Poland (both +3.7%), Croatia (+3.6%), Spain (+3.5%), and Bulgaria (+3.4%). Estonia, along with Belgium and Slovenia, saw a GDP increase of 1.1% over the same period.
On average, GDP in the EU grew by 1.4% in the fourth quarter compared to October–December of the previous year, while the eurozone economy expanded by 1.2%.
Compared to the third quarter (July–September), EU GDP grew by 0.4%, while the eurozone economy increased by 0.2%.
Quarter-on-quarter economic growth was recorded in 20 EU member states. The highest growth rates were seen in Ireland (+3.6%), Denmark (+1.6%), Portugal (+1.5%), and Croatia (+1.4%). Meanwhile, GDP declined in France (-0.1%), Germany and Finland (both -0.2%), Austria (-0.4%), and Malta (-0.4%), while Latvia’s GDP remained unchanged. Lithuania, along with Spain, Romania, and Sweden, recorded economic growth of 0.8%, while Estonia and the Czech Republic saw a 0.7% increase in GDP.
Data for Luxembourg were not available.
For year-on-year comparisons in the Netherlands, Finland, and Sweden, figures were adjusted for working days.
Latvia among the few EU countries with economic decline
